But the message wrong-footed national capitals, which were never asked to sign off on the idea before the speech, said three diplomats, granted anonymity to speak freely. Granting membership to the EU is a responsibility of the European Council, and no model for associate membership exists.
“Nobody really knows what it means,” said one of the envoys, who has been involved in talks with the Commission about relations with Canada in recent days. “Member states have tried to manage expectations. There are only warm feelings for Ottawa, but we need to know what the details are.”
A second diplomat put it more bluntly, predicting that while Canada could be given an equivalent of the EU’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas deal — a market access arrangement offered to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine — there is little mandate for other economic or political integration. “Member states will not agree on anything else,” the diplomat said.
A third diplomat added that any associate membership status would require changes to the EU’s fundamental treaties — which is “impossible” due to a lack of support.
Among the potential issues that would come up if they considered going beyond that, according to the diplomats, are thorny questions around Ottawa’s Made in Canada preference, which could fly in the face of single market rules; Canada’s steel industry, which rivals Europe’s own; taxation on the EU’s car exports and its rules limiting imports of European alcohol; and its differing guidance on genetically modified produce.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has previously suggested “associate membership” as a way for closer alignment with Ukraine, although the idea was rejected by Kyiv and failed to win the support of other leaders.